Melting the Ice
by Cluny the Warlord 1992
Summary: Weiss Schnee's heart is about to be warmed, as an old friend from her past comes to Beacon. Set after the events of RWBY: Volume 2. Please enjoy.
1. A Hearfelt Hello

The snow in the woods glowed a brilliant shade of blue in the light of the moon, Weiss Schnee walked through the trees, her left hand clutching the hilt of Myrtenaster tightly as she advanced slowly through the dark labyrinth of misty woodlands. She was tired and cold; each step was like moving a boulder up a steep hill. She struggled to keep her eyes open, her breath grew more and more shallow with every step, and her mind was filling with fear, every waking moment was excruciating agony. She walked until finally her body and mind creaked from the strain, but still she pressed onward. Suddenly, she heard a sound that sent body trembling with ice-cold terror, a howl that made her blood run cold, and her eyes tear up in dread. She tried to open her mouth to call for help, but she was muted by painful sobs. She was alone, she had always been alone, and she always drove away anyone who made an attempt to be her friend. The cold seared through her tired body only adding to the exhausting amount of pain that wracked her body in agony.

She could only watch as out of the shadows a large Beowulf advanced toward her, growling hungrily at her. Her mind went blank, as she fought with what will she had left to stifle her sobs of anguish. The black lycanthropic beast towered over her, raising one of its arms to strike. All seemed lost, and she hardly had the energy left in her to scream, she could only cry and huddle into herself, wishing for someone, if anyone would help her. Suddenly, from the tree above her, a growl echoed through the woods frightening the Beowulf, making it back up slowly from its quarry. The figure above her jumped down putting itself between the beast and the whimpering girl whose eyes were locked on the mystery man. The moonlight was dim but she could make out two distinct wolf ears, the figure was a faunus, a creature resembling a human in appearance but had part of an animal. Weiss typically didn't approve of faunus, but this one was different. When she looked at him, she felt her tears fade away, and a warmth flowed through her, her pain dissolved. The figure turned his head, and a deep emerald green eye met the pale blue eyes of the young woman. The eye was gentle and inviting, and yet so very familiar to her, where had she seen him before?

The figure turned attention to the Beowulf, two sai popped out of the sleeves of the leather jacket he was wearing, he crouched and charged at the beast. Weiss gasped and shut her eyes. At that moment, she woke up sweating, her face warm and wet, her pillow was damp, her heart was racing and her breathing was shallow. She looked toward her left, and saw Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna staring at her with concern on their faces. "Weiss?" She turned to see her bunk mate, Ruby Rose, who was clutching her dog, a black corgi named Zwei, with a look of deeper concern on her face. "Is everything ok?" she asked with baited breath.

The look on Weiss' face quickly changed, "Of course I'm okay, you dolt," She snapped, "why wouldn't I be?"

"Well," Yang said jumping down from her bunk, "the sound of you whimpering and nearly screaming in your sleep, the sobbing, the tossing, and then for the past half-hour you've been crying saying, 'someone, anyone, please, I don't want to die alone."

"Which woke me up, Weiss," Ruby said squatting down to be at eye level with her teammate, "you're not alone. You have me, Yang, Blake, Nora, Pyrrha, Ren, and Jaune." Zwei barked, "And Zwei too."

"You shouldn't be crying," Blake said with a slight groan in her voice, "you were the one who confronted me when I felt uneasy about the evening Sun and I faced the White Fang and Torchwick at the docks."

Weiss rested her head in her hands, "I appreciate the concern from you, my friends," she said, "it makes me feel slightly more at rest with my dream-based befuddlement."

"What?" Ruby cocked her head slightly.

"I just had a crazy weird dream." Weiss reiterated, "I was attack by a massive Beowulf, I thought I was going to die, it felt so real."

"A massive Beowulf," Blake sat up in disbelief, "where were you in your dream?"

"I don't really know," Weiss said, "I remember it was a black forest with fog and snow and unyielding cold."

"Sounds like it was the Blight," Blake said pointing to a book she'd been reading lately, "it's a dark forest that exists only in people's deepest nightmares. It draws people in only when they are the most vulnerable."

"Does it cause night terrors so horrific that they wake up the members of the victim's team?" Yang asked, her blonde her breaking Blake's eye contact with Weiss.

"It does, unfortunately," the amber-eyed girl laid her head on her pillow.

"There was someone else there," Weiss added, "a man, no, a faunus." Blake got up again putting her laying body's weight on her elbow, "I don't know who he was, but he felt so familiar. The wolf ears, the deep emerald-green eyes, the silver hair."

"The way you describe him," Ruby said, "he sounds like you knew him once."

"Well, my father's chief guard was a male faunus, and he did bare a resemblance to the faunus in my dream, all the way down to the leather jacket."

"Woah," Yang said sitting at the foot of her pale-skinned teammate, "you recognized what he was wearing?" She raised an eyebrow and put on her sly trademark grin, "I know what that means…"

"Shut up, Yang," Weiss growled.

"Someone's in the 'L word,'" Yang giggled.

"Lima beans?" Ruby asked.

"No." Blake sighed.

"Lasagna!" Ruby guessed again.

"She means love!" Weiss half-shouted, her team leader was taken aback. "And the more I think about it, the more I know it's just a dream, but thinking of that silhouetted faunus clad in leather, those warm emerald eyes, that gentle look in his eyes. I don't know, my heart's all atwitter about this." She started feeling a love struck grin come over her now reddening face. "But it makes me more conflicted, I can't remember about my rescuer, but I know I've seen him before, I just can't place where it was though."

"Are there any faunus that you spent a lot of time with before you started at Beacon?" Blake asked.

"There were a few; I wasn't particularly close to them, though." Weiss replied.

"Were there any who were particularly smitten with you?" Yang asked. Weiss threw her pillow at the obnoxious blonde as she giggled like a school girl.

"How in all of Remnant could you ask something like that?" Weiss asked feeling slightly annoyed.

"Because, it's an important question," Yang said inquisitively, "sorry I pushed your buttons too hard."

Blake looked at the clock and then over to Weiss, "Well I think we need to get back to sleep," She said, "If you want to have a good night's sleep without returning to the Blight, just focus on something good, like that mysterious faunus boy."

Weiss huffed and laid her head on her pillow, "Thank you, Blake, we may have had difficulty agreeing when we first met," she shifted in her bed until she was facing her teammate, "but recently you've been like the sister I wish I had, and for that…," a smile ran across her face, "I thank you."

With that, Ruby put Zwei down on the floor, and the corgi yipped and jumped onto Weiss' bed and curled up at her feet, Weiss looked at the little dog who only a week ago helped her team and other teams as well as three professors defeat the White Fang organization and an army of Grimm who entered Vale's borders from an underground tunnel from an abandoned town in the southeast corner of the kingdom with a look of reassurance, _I was wrong in the dream,_ she thought, _I guess I'm not alone, not anymore._ She sat up looped her arm around Zwei and lay back down with him nestled in her embrace. She finally felt soothed enough to drift back into a deep slumber and closed her eyes.

* * *

><p>Weiss slipped into another dream, this time it was different. What Blake had told her was true. The Blight preyed upon the misery of the dreamers and thinking of something comforting prevented the Blight's dark power from drawing her in. But, the comforting thought Weiss had set her mind on was nowhere to be seen. It didn't matter to her anyway, the place she was felt as warm and inviting as the emerald eyes of her rescuer in the Blight. It was a large white ballroom with a beautiful spread of food. She looked at the light pink curtains in the windows and to the floor, to her surprise she saw the tiles had been arranged in the shape of her family's crest, the emblem for the Schnee family. "This is so incredible," she said.<p>

"It is, isn't it?" A mysterious voice said.

Weiss turned in the direction of the voice. There, she saw a familiar sight that took her completely by surprise. A faunus boy, with wolf ears, brown and silver hair, and a fur collared light brown leather jacket with Weiss' family crest carved into the back. He turned to face the girl clad in white, the sight of his emerald eyes brought tears to her eyes. She finally remembered the name of this boy. She hadn't seen him in years, but she knew his name and it filled heart with long forgotten joy as she said it. "R-Rowan," She asked as she stepped slowly toward him with a tear rolling down her cheek, "Rowan… Whitemane?" she was hesitant to advance any further until the boy responded.

"Yes, my princess," Rowan replied with a soft warm smile appearing on his face, "it's me."

Weiss couldn't hold back her joy anymore, "Rowan!" she cried as she ran and hugged her childhood friend. Feeling him return her embrace made her burst into tears of joy, "It's been so long, I've missed you so much," she sniffled with joy, "but how are you here?" She looked up into his eyes wanting never to be without them, "And why were you in the Blight when that giant Beowulf attacked me?"

Rowan chuckled, "It's all part of my semblance," he said, "it allows me to enter the dreams of those I care about." Weiss' eyes widened, "And there's no one in the world I care about more than you. Like the Grimm, I could feel the negative energy flooding out of you, even in the icy grip of the Blight. I couldn't bear feeling your misery any longer, every inch of me wanted to protect you."

Weiss' eyes clouded up even more. She buried her head in Rowan's chest and embraced him tighter, "I wish this wasn't a dream," she sobbed, "I can't stand another minute of being away from you."

She felt Rowan's finger tilt her head up until their eyes met, "Could you wait a few more hours, then," he said with a reassuring smile on his face, "I'm on my way to Beacon in an airship with my team, from Atlas, and they're all ecstatic about meeting you and your team."

Weiss heart was all aflutter with excitement, "I suppose I can wait, if it means getting to see you again in the flesh," She said. She hugged him one more time as she heard her teammates' voices echoing through the ballroom, "I'll see you at the landing bay soon." She said.

She felt Rowan kiss her forehead ever so gently, "Until then, my princess." He said as the dream world faded away and they woke up.


	2. Warming Her Heart

"Weiss," Ruby repeated multiple times, "Weiss, Weiss, Weiss, hey are you in there, helloooo?" She was so excited to tell her teammate the news she'd heard as she went out for a morning walk.

Weiss feelings of passion had faded as soon as she woke up, "What is it, Ruby!?" she grumbled rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"I heard from Professor Ozpin that there's a ship load of teams coming in from Atlas." She said practically jumping up and down in her combat skirt, boots, corset top, hood and cape with delight.

Weiss' face lit up, like a Christmas tree, "What time will it be here?" she asked literally jumping out of bed and into her team leader's face.

"About an hour and…" Ruby stammered as Weiss bolted from her presence and thundered through the shower, dried herself off, and dressed herself in her white high heels, combat skirt, and white Schnee company jacket, and flowery hair piece, "… a half." She blinked looking absolutely clueless, "Are you okay, Weiss?"

"Of course I'm okay, why would I not be okay? What's there not to be okay about? Are YOU okay? Because, I am definitely, one hundred percent, beyond the shadow of a doubt, okay!" Weiss said in a voice similar to that of a hyperactive child. She grabbed her team leader by the hand, "Come on, what're we doing just standing here for? They'll be here soon and breakfast is still being served in the cafeteria. Come on, come on, come on! Let's go, go, go, go, go!" Like a bolt of lightning she zipped out the room, down the hall, out of the dormitory, and into the cafeteria line.

"Weiss…?" Ruby asked.

"What's wrong, Ruby?" Weiss asked zipping about her teammate like a dragonfly, "Can't decide what to eat? Here, lemme take care of that for you, my friend." She popped in front of the scarlet battle girl with a plate full of cinnamon buns and coffee prepared with a crème and five sugars, "Here you go, this should be a sufficient portion of sustenance for a growing girl like yourself. Now come on, let's have a seat, you need to get up your energy for today."

"Weiss, what are…?" Ruby was cut off as Weiss pinched her nose and poured a generous portion of coffee down her throat and stuffed a cinnamon bun into her mouth.

"Hold that thought, Ruby," Weiss said hearing her stomach growl, "I'll be right back." She zipped off and came back with a plate full of pancakes with syrup a pat of butter and a glass of orange juice. "Come on," she pestered Ruby, "eat, eat, eat, HURRY!"

Ruby swallowed hard, "Weiss," she grabbed her teammate's hands and shook her, "slow down! What's gotten into you? You've been acting weird ever since you woke up this morning."

Weiss' cheery look started to fade, "I'm sorry, Ruby." She said as her face wilted.

"What's up with you two," Jaune Arc asked as he approached with the rest of team JNPR and team RWBY, "did they put extra pep in the coffee beans today?"

"Something's up with Weiss," Ruby said, "she's being WAY too perky today."

"It's because an old friend from home, who I haven't seen in years is coming today," Weiss said, "I saw him in my dream."

"Never thought I'd hear of someone coming to visit the Ice Queen," Said Sun as he and his teammate, Neptune came walking up to the group.

Neptune raised an eyebrow, "Who is this friend of yours?" he asked.

"His name is Rowan Whitemane," Weiss said swooning, "he's a faunus whose family has always been loyal to my family." She took a bit out of her pancakes, "As far back as I can remember, he was always there for me, my father and sister, Winter, were always away on business. I always felt alone and then Rowan started visiting regularly, and we grew closer and closer. But, then life separated us, I went off to combat school, and he started working for the Schnee Dust Co. and became my father's personal guard. I always wondered what happened to him, and now he and his team are coming to Beacon, and I feel happier than I ever have."

Ruby smiled as she wolfed down a cinnamon bun, "That explains it," she put her hand on Weiss' shoulder, "Weiss this is wonderful."

"Wait," Sun said holding up his hands, "you said he came to you in a dream, how can that happen?"

"I think I can explain it," Blake said, "the Whitemane family is well known for supporting relations of peace between humans and faunus. During the war, they were part of the first aid and guard team to the leaders of the human forces."

"That's right," Pyrrha added, "the Whitemanes even shunned the White Fang when they turned into a criminal organization. The remained loyal to humans and started enlisting as guards to the government leaders."

"And Rowan's immediate family kept their loyalty to the Schnee family," Weiss said staring up through the window over the cafeteria entrance with a dream-laden look in her eyes.

"That still doesn't explain how he can enter people's dreams," Neptune said.

"The Whitemanes have some members of their family whose semblance allows them to enter the minds and dreams of those they're loyal to," Blake said, "They used this ability to revive soldiers until they made it to the hospital, it helped keep them calm so medical teams could work on them while they patched them up."

"They are the best the faunus can have for liaisons of peace." Weiss swooned again.

"Weiss, we have fifteen minutes until the ship from Atlas docks in the bay," Ruby said, "wanna go see your friend as he disembarks?"

"Yeah," Weiss said as she stood up and ran toward the door. It took the group all of five minutes to make it to the docks and four minutes to find the bay where the ship from Atlas would be landing. Weiss was getting worked up waiting as she saw the ship beginning its final approach. "Omigosh, what'll I do? What am I going to say? Does my makeup look okay? How's my hair? I don't look frumpy, do I? Oh this is so exasperating." She whined as the ship started docking in front of them.

"You look great, Weiss," Yang replied. The sound of the ships hatch opening and the deployment way extending toward the small group startled the group.

As the students from Atlas poured out, and greeted General Ironwood, Weiss looked all around. She got up to a higher vantage point to see if she could spot her protective wolf. She was starting to give up hope when she thought of going toward the gang plank entrance; she looked in and around the passenger's waiting area, but nothing. She went outside the ship, and past her friends, sat down beneath a big tree in the courtyard huddled into a ball and started to cry. She could feel the cold pain of loneliness overtake her again. A figure in a brown cloak squatted in front of her, "Is everything okay, ma'am?" he asked.

"It's none of your concern." Weiss snapped.

"I believe it is, my princess." The man said in a gentle voice.

Weiss looked up and was met with a pair of emerald eyes. The man removed the hood of his cloak and up popped two wolf ears, and his brown and silver hair was revealed. "R-Rowan?" Weiss asked.

"Yes, my princess," Rowan answered, "your wolf has returned."

Tears filled Weiss' eyes, she leapt forward and hugged her long awaited friend, "I thought you weren't going to be here," she said between sobs.

"It was Luna's idea," Rowan said, "she thought it would be a good move. Clearly it wasn't."

A girl with cat ears and a leather strap with a bell around her neck appeared from up in the tree, "Sorry," I thought it would be romantic."

Weiss let go of Rowan, and stamped her foot, the high and mighty Ice Queen retook her proper stance with a misplaced sniffle, "Well," she said trying to maintain her composure, "you obviously thought wrong," she did her best to choke back a sob.

"I told you she wouldn't go for it, Luna Rosaline," Rowan smiled, "you haven't changed a bit, princess," he placed his hand on Weiss' shoulder, "thank you for staying yourself over the years."

Weiss blushed, "I've tried to," she stammered.

"You've no need to, Weiss," Rowan said, "There's something about the way you present yourself that no other girl, whether human or faunus, can emulate. You're so incredibly strong."

"It's how I was raised," Weiss said, "to be strong, independent, confident and ready for anything."

"Then explain why the Blight brought out your inner weakness." Ruby stated.

"The Blight is made to sap the strength of all people," Blake replied.

"Your friend is right, Weiss," Rowan said, "the Blight is an evil worse than any Grimm in existence. It has no desire to feast upon organic matter. It saps ALL of the strength from its victims and turns that strength into weakness, and then it sends in a giant Grimm to dispense with them after the Blight is done syphoning all negativity from them."

"Is that the real reason why you saved me?" Weiss asked with her arms crossed.

"Half of the reason," A girl with red hair and dark brown eyes said, "when he saw your face in a flash vision and saw you were in the Blight, you would have thought someone had killed his puppy."

"Team RWBY, meet Ferrina Ochre," Rowan said, "she's always pretty cheery."

"Shut up, Rowan," Ferrina scoffed.

"Women." Nora shrugged.

"Totally." A dark haired young man replied.

"Weiss and friends," Rowan chuckled, "meet team WULF's version of Ruby Rose, Umbra Obsidia."

"And I would like you all to me my friends and teammates, Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, Sun, and my dear friend Neptune." Weiss said.

"You seem to have gathered an admirable host of friends since we last met, princess." Rowan said.

"How else was I supposed to fill an incenerative void in my life, without you?" Weiss asked.

"Of all the efforts," Rowan said, "I approve of this the most."

Weiss blushed a deep shade of red. "If you want to see something to be proud of," Yang said putting her scroll in between them, "feast your eyes on this candid footage, straight from this morning." She pressed play, and both he and Weiss were shown the events of Weiss' hyperactivity that morning.

After the footage stopped, Rowan stepped back and whispered to Yang, "You're in for it now, showing us that footage was a bit of a foolhardy move."

"What?" Yang asked.

Weiss reached up and grabbed Yang's cheeks, "Of ALL the immature, childish, insensitive, self-righteous, bull-headed and out right imbecilic actions you chose, Yang Xiao Long," she scolded, "that has to go on the top of the proverbial list. You're supposed to be a BIG sister, and yet you act like a two year old. Always strutting around, throwing yourself around as being tough, and I can't deny it, I saw what you're capable of last semester. I just find it hard to fathom how someone of such prowess can act like a delinquent."

"Warned you," Rowan said in a sing-song voice, "Weiss may be a girl of high decorum, but when you humiliate her, her scolding can rival even the terror of the most powerful of Grimm."

Ruby thought back to that moment two weeks ago, to the Goliaths she and Doctor Ooblek had encountered in Mountain Glen. She remembered how he'd said they were so powerful that they didn't need to attack Vale because they knew the extent of their power and they knew trying to attack the kingdom would only cause people to rush to defend the borders. "I can see what he meant." She said.

"Hrmm?" Ferrina grunted turning her attention to the young girl in red.

"Sorry," Ruby replied, "it's nothing."

Weiss continued scolding Yang after regaining most of her composure, "I can't believe that I've once again allowed your chicanery to tumultuously divert my mind onto a path of further embarrass myself in front of a regal and composed member of society."

Rowan blushed and scratched the tip of his ear, "I wouldn't exactly call myself regal." He chuckled.

"You are to me," Weiss added, "and that's all that counts." Rowan blushed. He'd known Weiss longer than anyone, and could vouch for the fact that she used to have a noticeable dislike for the faunus. When they first met, she threw a rock at him. He did run away, but his desire to be her friend was too strong for fear to snuff out. He kept trying and trying, and when she wasn't there he felt abandoned and alone. He kept from falling victim to his loneliness by spending his days at the Schnee family home in the library while his father and Mr. Schnee worked on business negotiations. But when Weiss was there, she shunned Rowan to the point where he went off on his own and explored the house. He found new places to read while Weiss practiced her crafts but he did slip a glass of water to her during her singing lessons, without ever being noticed.

"I remember that you never liked me that much to begin with." He stated. They never hit it off until the day she was almost kidnapped by members of the White Fang five years prior. Weiss had been playing in the garden of the Schnee family home when members of the faunus organization snuck through the perimeter and grabbed her. Rowan was nearby looking out over one of the hedge rows at the mountains when he heard Weiss scream. He turned his attention toward the scream, shouted at the thugs and called for help. One of the guards saw the masked figures starting making their way toward an exit with Rowan in pursuit. With all his will power, Rowan ran as fast as he could, catching up to the faunus who had possession of Weiss and grabbed hold of his leg and tripped him.

The masked faunus still had a good grip on Weiss and started kicking Rowan in the face to get him to let go of his leg. Rowan held on with all he had until he had all he could stand, the faunus kicked his hat off revealing the boys wolf ears. The man had was shocked, Rowan used the momentary pause to grab the older faunus kicking leg and bite into it. The man screamed in pain long and loosened his grip on Weiss. The girl punched the man in the chin and got free. Rowan let go of Weiss' kidnapper and ran back toward the house. The guard questioned the masked man and said if it hadn't been for Rowan's bravery, and stubbornness, Weiss wouldn't have been seen again. "Well I did warm up to you." Weiss said, "You saved me, in spite of all my previous efforts to drive you away."

"You never really drove me away, princess," Rowan said.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked.

"You actually gave me opportunities to get closer to you." Rowan replied.

"How?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"Who do you think slipped you those glasses of water when you were practicing singing?" Rowan asked slyly.

"That was you?" Weiss gasped, "How did you…?"

"I had to find something to do when you kept telling me to leave you alone," Rowan raised his brow, "exploration was one of my favorite hobbies," Weiss half-clinched her fist. "But, I only found a few good nooks for reading."

"Reading, really?" Yang said, "That's it, I'm going to spar with someone." She walked off and grabbed the closest boy she could find and pulled him off to the training arena.

"I'm going off to the library," Blake said, "I need to exchange the book I got a week ago."

"Mind having a little company?" Ferrina asked. "I read all the books in the Atlas library over the past six months."

"The Beacon library does have a good Noire section." Luna added. She jumped out of the tree and went with Blake and Ferrina to the library.

"Jaune," Pyrrha said, "I think it's time to practice hand-to-hand combat." Jaune nodded and walked off with her.

"Nora I think we have…" Ren started.

"OH MY GAWD YOU'RE RIGHT!" Nora blurted out. She grabbed Ren and zipped off.

"Well, I'm going off to find some food," Sun said.

"Sounds good," Neptune sauntered after his teammate.

"I'm just gonna go look at the architecture," Umbra said, "Atlas hardly comes close to anything I see here."

Rowan and Weiss were shocked to see that Ruby was the only one left, she had slipped back into the cafeteria, and grabbed a plate of cinnamon buns and three cups of hot chocolate. "Sorry, you both looked kinda hungry." She said handing them each a cup, "That, and the weather does look nice for a picnic."

"Ruby," Weiss said, "there are moments when I am astounded to no end by your child-like kindness."

"And there are times when your Weissy-ness just makes me want to give you something to calm you down." The silver eyed girl replied, "I'm gonna go find a place where I'm out of your hair. And enjoy my hot chocolate without a care in the world." She walked off and ran into her friend, Penny. They both headed to a tree and sat down.

Rowan looked to Weiss, "To be honest," he said, "my favorite hideaway was near the room where you had your vocal practices." He said as they sat and shared the cinnamon buns and hot chocolate, "I gave you those glasses of water because I didn't want that beautiful voice of yours to be lost forever."

"I guess I was right, about you," Weiss giggled as she swallowed a bite, "you are a rather upstanding member of the world's people, human and faunus alike." She took a sip of the hot chocolate, oddly enough Ruby knew she liked Atlesian chocolate with a large marshmallow melted and mixed into it. "And I never thought I would say this, but Ruby is one remarkable friend."

"Ruby Rose is most definitely a good friend to have by one's side," Rowan said taking a bite out of a cinnamon bun and washing it down with hot chocolate, "She may be a child at heart. However all of us have a childish side, your hidden hyperactivity, Ruby's eternal quirkiness, even me calling you princess. It's a flaw that makes us perfect."

"I guess you're right." Weiss said after taking a sip.

"Weiss, can I ask you something?" Rowan asked.

"What is it, Rowan?" Weiss asked back.

"Did you ever have…," Rowan asked shyly, "… I don't know… feelings for me?"

Weiss' eyes widened and she blushed deep red, "What do you mean?" she asked softly.

"I mean after I helped to save you," Rowan said, "did you ever develop feelings for me?" Weiss put her now empty cup down next to the empty plate and turned toward him, "After that, you started getting closer to me, closer than you ever did to anyone else. You started seeing me as less of a faunus and more of a person, a friend. You sent me letters, cards, invitations to performances, other things."

"It's because you were the only one who was ever there for me," Weiss said, "I had to thank you somehow." She slowly reached and wrapped her fingers with Rowan, "I could never find the words to do it."

"Well your eyes say everything," Rowan replied, "they keep repeating the same phrase over and over again."

Weiss' heartbeat skyrocketed, but her eyes grew heavy, no doubt a side effect of the warmth of the sun and hot chocolate mixed with the pancakes and cinnamon buns. "I apologize," Weiss said, "my team leader must have seen this happening, hence the…" a yawn forced its way from her mouth, "onset of this," she yawned again, "this." Her eyes grew heavier as she leaned and was guided by Rowan's careful hands into his lap, and Weiss dozes off. She woke up in the same dream where Rowan's identity was revealed, not a detail had changed, not a curtain out of place, and the Schnee family crest still remained on the floor of the elegant ballroom.

"Food coma," Rowan asked walking in front of her "is that what you were going to say?"

"I was going to say state of exhaustion," Weiss said, "but you are right." She looked at him with a smile, "I have to hand it to Ruby, she is nothing if not impetuous at times in spite of her childish mannerisms."

"I have to agree with you there," Rowan chuckled.

"I used to think she was a total dunce," Weiss said, "I've seen how she's grown as a leader," she paused, "with guidance from me and her sister, and our friends."

"If may be perfectly honest with you, Weiss," Rowan responded, "I think they may have rubbed off on you too."

"I suppose that they have," Weiss blushed, "and to be frank, I like how they've changed me, it's for the best, and I've never felt lighter."

"And yet, you still had a certain emptiness," Rowan said, "a darkness that allowed the Blight to attempt to consume you." he grabbed the elegant young girl's hand and said, "A void that formed when we applied to separate combat schools."

"How can you be so certain of that?" Weiss' eyes narrowed.

"Because it's written all over those pale-blue eyes of yours," Rowan said, "you may be serious, confident, and overly stern at times. But the loneliness you had from having no choice in what to do in life as a child you had a nonexistent circle of friends."

"What are you trying to say, Rowan?" Weiss asked hesitantly.

"Words can't explain it," Rowan said raising his hand and snapping his fingers, "but it is said, actions speak louder than words." As if on cue, a slow song, that Weiss herself sang, started to play, "This song from the first performance you invited me to." He held out his hand, "May I have the honor of this dance, my princess?"

Weiss took his hand, "Only because I've secretly wanted to since for a while now." She blushed, "And because you were never wanted to be my friend because I was rich and popular." She reached up and rested her hand on dance partner's shoulder, "I've always thought you were extraordinarily handsome." She said softly as Rowan placed his hand on her waist, "But, I was always scared that my father and sister, Winter, wouldn't approve. So I had no choice but to suppress my feelings for you." Weiss lifted her head to meet Rowan's emerald eyes, "I suppose what I'm saying is," mustering the courage to say those three words, _Say it Weiss,_ her mind screamed, _you may never get the chance to again, please just say it! He's the perfect boy for you. Yes he's a faunus, but he's also you're oldest friend. He saved your life, and you've respected him for the longest time after that._ Tears flowed down her cheeks, _SAY IT WEISS,_ she panicked. She grabbed Rowan by the cheeks and vigorously pulled him in and kissed him.

When she let him go, Rowan was in shock, "Wow," he said, "I never expected you to put it like that."

Weiss started to cry again, "I'm such a dolt," she wept, "I'm sorry, Rowan, I tried to say it but I just panicked." Rowan wiped away the tears from the alabaster skinned girl's face.

"It doesn't matter," Rowan said, "I got the message, princess."

"Really?" Weiss asked in disbelief.

"Of course," Rowan said, "but if you're not comfortable with it, I'm ok with just being your friend,"

Weiss looked slightly disappointed, "I guess I'll be okay with that." She sighed.

"Who knows," Rowan chuckled, "I think that guy, Neptune, has a thing for you."

"He does," Weiss said, "but he's one of those free-spirited cool guys, plus he can't dance."

"That IS a serious problem," Rowan said, "every guy should be able to dance with a beautiful woman."

"And then there's Jaune," Weiss said, "But I'm pretty sure he's involved with Pyrrha."

"Wow, Pyrrha and Jaune," Rowan said, "She's in a higher class of person than he is."

"Well, she told me that he was the first boy who liked her for who she really was and not the fame she had with her name." Weiss replied.

"Sound familiar?" Rowan grinned.

The girl looked up at him intently, "It sounds a lot like you and me." She knew the only thing she could do is just say the words.

"I'd change my mind about just wanting to be your friend," Rowan added, "but you have to say those three little words."

Weiss' face flushed, she hated that she was being manipulated into confessing her feelings for the faunus boy. But what hurt her more was that she couldn't bring herself to tell it, she struggled to bring those words out before she left for Beacon. Now the boy she valued more than gold was closer to her than he'd ever been, and she felt something deep within her. Her heart felt different, it was similar to when she saw Rowan rescue her in in the Blight. A warm sensation that slowly seeped into her body, but only her heart remained out of its reach. The pain of living without it was more than she could bear, until finally the words forced their way out of the confines of her heart. In a burst of emotion she wrapped both of her arms around Rowan's neck and with tears in her eyes she let the words flow from her lips like a tidal surge, "Rowan Whitemane! I, Weiss Schnee, love you." She stood on one leg and kissed him again and held it as long as her lungs would allow.

When she pulled out of the kiss, and felt Rowan's hand cup around her cheek, "I've been waiting what feels like an eternity to hear you say that, Weiss Schnee." He said with a tear rolling down his face, "I, Rowan Whitemane, love you too, more than life itself." Hearing these words flowing from Rowan's lips, she felt heart glow. Rowan had finally managed to do what no other person could, he warmed the Ice Queen's heart, and she was happy that he did.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I know I started off with Weiss being completely out of character, but believe me, I've written several more chapters and I've watched RWBY Volumes 1 & 2 to get a better handle on how to write her. Also thank you to those who brought up that I didn't get her character right.**

**I've also added some background on Rowan and how he and Weiss came together as kids in later chapters. I'm trying not to make Rowan and his team seem like Mery Sues, so give me some feedbacks if that ever happens.**


	3. A Secret Revealed

**My friends, before I get to this chapter, please take the time to read this. It is with a heavy heart that I as a member of the RWBY community say goodbye to Monty Oum. Monty was a brilliant man that I never actually had the pleasure of meeting in person, but I suppose that this fact does soften the blow of his passing to an extent.**

**Being a fan of his since seeing Haloid on YouTube several years ago, and seeing his work come to fruition on the progression of Rooster Teeth projects such as Red vs Blue and RWBY has inspired me to write for both categories. His passing will not keep me from writing, I refuse to back down on this, since I know how committed he was to RWBY and RvB combat scene choreography. Sleepless nights and endless days drove this man to build his legacy, leaving to us as fans a number of universes to build on in our own way as the primary universe (hopefully) continues on. Monty may be gone from this world, but his legacy lives on in us as fans.**

* * *

><p>Weiss and Rowan had been asleep for a little over an hour and Ruby and Penny had agreed that they would watch over them so no one bothered them. "Ruby," Penny said, "I thought that Weiss was not interested in any faunus other than Blake Belladonna."<p>

"Well, Penny," Ruby replied, "Rowan is closer to Weiss, even more so than Blake." She watched on as Weiss' hand reached and wrapped fingers with Rowan's. "I get the feeling they're more than friends though," she smiled.

"Do you think Rowan would approve of being my friend?" Penny asked.

"I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be a problem," Ruby said, "I mean he's friends with everyone it seems."

"He certainly is," General Ironwood said coming up behind the girls, "he's one of the more likeable members of Atlas' combat elite. If he wasn't likeable, I wouldn't have accepted him if he didn't live up to the reputation of the Whitemane family. A faunus like him is beyond irreplaceable. Loyal to the end, a valuable asset to any team, and highly revered as an elite warrior."

"I thought the Whitemane family were supposed to be the world's greatest healers." Penny said.

"That's true for some members of the family," General Ironwood said, "But the history of Atlas tells of their ancient secret, they're faunus capable of bringing out the beast within, a sort of reversion to a primal state. In that state they're nearly impossible to control by their own will, but they are unstoppable in closed quarters."

"Wow," Ruby exclaimed, "I guess rescuing people from night terrors isn't the only thing he's good for!"

"You've experienced his semblance, Ruby?" The general asked.

"No, sir," Ruby replied, "but Weiss has."

Ironwood turned to Rowan and Weiss, huddled together beneath the tree, "I see," he said. "Well, I have some things I need to take care of in Vale, the Vytal festival and tournament are priority one for most of my soldiers at the moment."

"Will you be needing my assistance, General?" Penny asked, I am ready to comply if you require me to do so."

"Not just now, Penny," Ironwood said, "I need you to stay safe, and I can't have the guards running around the back alleys of Vale looking for you while I have important work to be done in preparation for the upcoming festivities."

"Yes sir," Penny sighed.

"I'll keep an eye on her, General," Ruby said, "if anything happens I'll get her to a safe place and alert you as soon as possible."

The general thought this over for a moment, remembering the night of the dance when Ruby single handedly held her own against a still unknown intruder, "Very well, Ruby," he said, "that would be most helpful." He turned to walk away but paused, "Be sure to stay within earshot of young Mr. Whitemane. He may be of more help than I, while I'm away."

She nodded her head, "I won't let you down, sir."

With that Ironwood walked off, before he boarded the airship into the city he looked to one of the guards and said, "Keep an eye on them, I don't want any harm coming to Penny while I'm away."

The guard saluted, "Yessir!" The General quickly boarded the air ship which quickly departed for the city.

"Thank you for volunteering to be my guardian, Ruby." Penny said.

"That's what friends are for, Penny," Ruby said, "they protect each other when things get rough."

"Everything seems to be smooth and damp out here, Ruby." Penny observed.

Ruby giggled, "It's an expression, Penny."

They looked over at Weiss and Rowan as they awoke from their sleep. Weiss looked up into the faunus boy's eyes and smiled. "Hello, my handsome wolf." She said softly reaching up and cupping her hand around Rowan's cheek.

Rowan smiled back, "Hello to you, my beautiful princess." He reached down and carefully moved strand of Weiss' hair behind her ear.

Ruby leaned in close to Penny, "I think something might have happened in their dream," she whispered.

"Why do you say that?" Penny whispered back.

"They were kind of at odds with each other when I left them earlier," Ruby replied, "Rowan must have entered Weiss' dream and told her something. It must have been romantic for this sort of reaction."

"It would appear that you're correct, Ruby," Penny said, "what do we do?"

"Let them tell us when they're ready," Ruby replied, "I've heard rushing this sort of stuff is a bad idea."

"Why?" Penny asked, her eyes flitting about between Ruby and the awakening couple.

"Yang told me, it may jinx things between the people involved," Ruby said, "I really don't know."

Weiss slowly stood up with Rowan, "Want me to show you around Beacon?" she asked.

Rowan nodded, and bowed, "Please, lead the way, princess." They started walking toward the main school building.

Ruby waited for them to be a safe distance away, "Okay, c'mon Penny." She said helping Penny to her feet.

* * *

><p>While Weiss showed Rowan the Beacon campus, Blake was actually enjoying a bonding moment with Luna L'Amour and Ferrina Ochre in the library. "So, how long have the four of you been a team?" she asked.<p>

Luna looked up from her mystery novel, "We've actually know each other since we were little." She replied.

"She's right," Ferrina added, "Luna, Umbra, and I grew up in the same village together. We met Rowan when he and his father came to the village. He was shy at first, the faunus in Atlas were looked down upon in larger cities. But, it was Luna who made the first interaction with him."

Luna rested her head on her and hand, "Yeah, I walked up to him and tried to take off the little tweed hat he was wearing." She said.

"He acted like he would die if someone took it off." Ferrina added, her eyes locked on her book.

"I can sympathize with that," Blake said adjusting her bow.

"Your secret's in good hands," Luna put her hands on Blake's shoulder, "we won't tell a soul."

Blake smiled and nodded in thanks to the small innocent-looking faunus. Luna reminded her so much of Ruby that it made her giggle. "So where was I?" Luna asked aloud, "Oh yeah! His hat! We spent the whole time he was in the village trying to get the hat. Umbra finally got it, but none of us expected Rowan to lash out at him for it."

"Lash out?" Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Rowan snarled and leapt onto Umbra, knocking him down. Then, he growled 'Give it back, now!' in Umbra's face." Ferrina replied.

"Poor Umbra was so scared with what would happen to him if it made it made him almost wet himself." Luna said trying to stifle a giggle, "He gave Rowan his hat back. But, Rowan started down a little escapade thing on how he was bullied for being a faunus, I'm sure you could also relate, Blake."

"Yeah," Blake responded, "I can understand why he'd lash out."

"The Whitemane family has always tried to be ambassadors of peace like the White Fang organization used to, but now that the White Fang has gone criminal… well you know." Ferrina said.

"All too well," Blake said, "I was part of the White Fang and left after they started increasing in the number of violent acts."

"The White Fang tried to recruit me," Luna said, "but I didn't want to betray Rowan." She grinned slightly and giggled, "So I kicked the recruiter in the shin and spit at him. Then I shuffled away."

"Shuffled away?" Blake raised her eyebrow toward the purple and pink clad faunus girl, "wouldn't they have caught you?"

"Not likely," Ferrina said locking her eyes on the bell around Luna's neck, "her semblance can wipe a person's short term memory. It's all because of that little bell on her neck."

"There are times when I despise this bell," Luna said fondling her bell, "Rowan once went insane, he started acting like an agitated Beowolf. It scared me, to be honest."

"Exposure to that bell is dangerous," Ferrina said, "which is why Luna has conditioned it to the point that it only jingles when she moves a certain way."

"How does Rowan keep from going crazy around that bell?" Blake asked.

"Well, he had Umbra line his hat with a special dampening fabric," Luna said, "it's his wolf ears that make him easily susceptible to the sound frequency of that bell, sound proofing that wool flat cap of his can dampen out any sounds of any audible weapon."

"But what about Rowan's human ears," Blake asked, "shouldn't it still affect him through them?"

"Ear plugs," Ferrina said, "they may dampen the sound, but they help immensely."

"Thank you for the tip." Blake replied.

* * *

><p>Umbra walked through the campus on his own, he preferred looking at architecture and scenery by himself so he could gather interesting and mind blowing snapshots on his scroll from dizzying angles with no one questioning his sanity. "Woah," he said looking at the statue in front of the school's entrance, "heavy." He got his scroll out and leaped to a taller vantage point then hanging upside-down and aiming, "Okay, big momma, smile pretty for me." He snapped the picture, "Wild, man, real wild." He swooned, admiring his work.<p>

"Woah, nice shot dude." Sun said.

"Hey," Umbra said not taking his eyes off of the picture, "faunus dude, what's happenin'?"

"Just looking around, swiping food here and there," Sun replied, "you know, being cool."

"Such is the life of the drifter," Umbra smirked, "I feel ya, brother." He lowered his scroll to where Sun could see it more clearly, "Feast your eyes on my on this beauty."

Sun looked at the photo, and realized that it was incredible, "Woah, I never knew a picture good look that great." He swooned.

"That's because you never laid eyes on a picture taken by me, bro." Umbra replied, "You gotta let the subject speak to, let it tell you what it wants. You dig?" Umbra loosed his legs from the tree did a twisting half summersault and landed on his feet, "Now, then, sweetheart," He said looking at the statue through his fingers and shuffling sideways, "let's see if we can't find a melding point for some sun shafts, nice dramatic effect."

Sun looked at Umbra, _This guy is supposed to be a huntsman in training?_ He though, _Yeah right, that's not likely._

"Most excellent, I can totally dig the flow, babe." He said getting out his scroll and snapping a shot, "Perfect contrast, exquisite balance. Totally speaks me, it says, 'Baby, I'm all yours.' I am in love with it."

"This dude needs to get out more," Sun said.

"Faunus dude," Umbra said, "I can hear much better than you think I can. Comes with the whole Zen mindset thing, you dig. I spent most of my life outside. I've even had my heart broken on several occasions."

"Harsh," Sun added.

"Totally, bro," Umbra said, "Oh by the way, really didn't catch your name." He waved at Sun, "I'm Umbra Obsidia, best unrecognized photographer in Atlas."

"Name's Sun Wukong," The monkey faunus replied, "best stow away in Vacuo."

"Stow away?" Umbra chuckled, "Right on, brother, stick it to the man." Sun jumped down from the tree and started laughing.

Neptune walked into the courtyard, "I can't believe what I just saw."

"What's that Neptune," Sun asked, "did Yang knock out another guy's teeth?"

"Did a Beowolf get stuck in a tree?" Umbra laughed.

"No," Neptune said, "and no, it's Weiss and that faunus."

"Lemme guess," Umbra said, "They're holdin' hands all ready."

"I saw them locking lips." Neptune said.

"Woah," Umbra replied, "guy's a fast operator. And with that semblance of astral projection, Rowan has, it's more potent that it looks. It only works if he's close to her, and it's even more useful if the person whose dream Rowan enters is close to him."

"Great," Neptune said, "I guess nothing is going to keep them apart."

"Dude," Umbra said, "I'll tell you this, Rowan has never talked about any other girl the way he has talked about Weiss. He'd sit in the window sill, breathe on the window pane and draw the Schnee family in the condensation with the tip of his finger."

"Sounds like he's been crazy over the Ice Queen for a long time," Sun said nudging Neptune in the ribs.

"That's putting it too lightly, Sun," Umbra remarked, "I remember he used to write letters to her. But he never sent them, he'd just fold each one up and put them in a box and tuck where no one would think of looking; total weirdsville if you ask me."

Neptune looked at Umbra inquisitively, "How did you find that out?"

"Woke up and watched him writing a letter to Weiss." Umbra said, "I just dismissed it and thought it was for the better. Well, if you dudes don't mind, I'm off to find some other places to immortalize. Catch you on the flipside."

"Uh, thanks," Neptune said, "later."

"Later, Umbra," Sun said. "What a weird guy. But man, does he know how to take a picture, or what?"

* * *

><p>Ferrina had gotten bored with reading in the library, so she asked Blake where the sparring arena was. She had no trouble finding it. As she walked through the doors and into the lockers, she heard what sounded like a fierce battle taking place on the training floor. "That's gotta be that girl, Yang." She said to herself. She grabbed her weapon, a set of aura reactant blades that curved forward from the horizontal hilt and extra three feet in front of her hands, and walked into the training room.<p>

To Ferrina's surprise, Yang was facing off against a full team, Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, and Sky Lark getting their collective defeats handed to them with a golden fist embellished with flames. Yang had Cardin on the ground, "You boys look like you've had enough," she said, "the way you fight, you'll be unable to qualify the Vytal Festival."

"Ugh," Cardin said, "just you wait," he staggered to his feet with the rest of his team, "your luck will run out one of these days, blondie."

"Keep telling yourself that, Cardin." Yang chuckled to herself. She turned and saw Ferrina, "You looking to take someone on… Ferrina, right?" She asked.

"I was going to fight the loser of this match up," Ferrina said, "but seeing how you must have punished the crap out of them is beyond obvious. So I guess I'm stuck with fighting one monster of a woman, namely you."

Yang shot Ferrina a smile with a giggle, "I'll try to tone it down in the beginning," she said, "but I'm not making any definite promises." She winked.

"I've fought against Rowan multiple times," Ferrina said sheathing her blades into the holsters, "If you have as good a punch as I've gauged up from looking at team…"

"Team CRDL, spelled C, R, D, L," Yang replied.

"More like team Bird Brain." Ferrina laughed, "I hope they fight as good as they spar."

"Not much improvement in that department." Yang said.

"You know, your teammate spoke highly of your fighting ability," Ferrina's face twisted into a grin, "I'll admit, I'm actually a bit excited, yeah?"

"Trust me," Yang said with a nearly semi-flirtatious wink, "I won't disappoint you."

They walked toward each other just as Cardin and his team had taken a seat to rest up from their beating. The two female combatants walked right toward the opposite end of the arena. Ferrina took a knee and closed her eyes. She wanted to give her opponent a good fight. _I have to be nice and fight like it's the tournament, that's all that matters._ She heard Yang pull an about face and grinned, _All right, sweet heart, _"LET'S DO THIS!" she drew one of the blades stepped forward and turned in Yang's direction and let loose a barrage of aura bolts at the blonde brawler and charged her.

A golden fireball collided with a rust colored torrent. Fists collided with a shock so immense that the whole school shook like an earthquake. "Woah, I think I'm in love." Yang said.

"You felt the same thing, huh?" Ferrina said her eyes glancing over at the crowd of students pouring in to the stands. Team CRDL was in shock.

"Woah," Russel Thrush said, "that was one big impact."

"No one's ever come back from a hit from Yang Xiao Long." Cardin said.

"You've obviously never met her opponent, Ferrina Ochre," Rowan said with Weiss coming into the stands, "She's been dubbed the Atlesian Juggernaut for her massive strength, speed, and her semblance."

"What's that, you freaky faunus?" Cardin asked with the rest of Team CRDL laughing.

Rowan simply snapped his fingers in Cardin's ears and shut him and the group up, "Look and listen," the wolf eared faunus said taking a seat with Weiss, "and you'll find out soon enough." More shocks erupting from the arena as punches and kicks were blocked and occasionally connected. Neither of the gladiators would admit to being hurt by the exchange of fierce blows that seemed to feel like it was growing in depth upon each impact. Weiss was in shock, she'd never seen anyone last this long against Yang's furious onslaught of power before.

Ruby, Blake, Team JNPR, and the others came into the arena, and sat next to Rowan and Weiss, "What's going on?" Ruby asked Weiss, "We felt the whole school shake, they're even talking about it on the news reports."

Weiss looked at Ruby and said, "It was Yang and Ferrina's fists colliding with each other," she said, "I never knew anyone other than Yang was capable of unleashing something like that."

Rowan focused intently on Ferrina, _Not much longer until Ferrina's semblance kicks in._ He thought. He turned to Weiss, "This is going to get interesting for Yang." He said.

"What do you mean?" Blake asked.

"Ferrina's semblance is about to come out," Luna said.

Umbra stared into the arena, his eyes wide with anticipation. "Things are gonna get heavy." He said.

Yang and Ferrina went in for another punch. The impact sent a visible shockwave through the arena. But something was different to Yang noticed something different about this punch, she could feel the energy building within her opponent's arm. Suddenly, Yang was knocked back by a tremendous force. Ruby and her friends all gasped, "What in the world was that?" Weiss asked.

"Looks like Ferrina's semblance has revealed itself," Rowan smiled, "The phantom force, it takes an opponent's power, adds Ferrina's power to it and reflects it back at the opponent."

"And Yang is looking a little disoriented," Pyrrha said, "Ferrina is a more fearsome opponent than Yang bargained for."

Jaune looked at the aura gauges over the two contenders, Yang's bar was slightly behind Ferrina's, nearing the yellow, "I think Yang may want to use Ember Celica to force Ferrina into a corner."

Yang threw a series of punches with her Ember Celica launching dust propelled slugs at Ferrina. The rust haired fighter whirled like a dervish toward her opponent deflecting the rounds as the zipped toward her. Yang jumped into the air and used her weapons to launch her over Ferrina and unleashed another furious barrage of bullets toward her. Ferrina deflected the rounds and fired off aura bolts leading Yang as she zipped through the air like a coffee-crazed firefly. The redhead's game changed, she began throwing slashes and sending visible slices of her aura flying at the blonde beast. Yang was still not discouraged, like that was any surprise after what had happened in the tunnels from the underground sub-city of Mountain Glenn several weeks prior.

"That's our little Juggernaut," Luna swooned, "always full of surprises."

"If you like her that much, why don't you…" Cardin was cut off by Luna's weapon, ten inch claws, pointed at the tip of his nose.

"Word of warning little birdie, this kitten has claws," Luna winked, "so choose your next words carefully."

"…Cheer for her?" Cardin said with a terrified chuckle.

Luna grabbed Cardin's breast plate, pulled him close, kissed his nose, "Good answer." She giggled and thrust him back in his seat.

Yang and Ferrina fought until they were heavily breathing and barely able to move. "What do you… say… Yang…" Ferrina panted, "do we... call this… a draw?"

"I'm okay… with that." Yang puffed back. She started laughing as put her arm around Ferrina, "I guess… this… makes us… friends forged… in fire."

Ferrina snickered, "You've got a… point there, my friend." They supported each other as they staggered and fell onto the locker room floor, laughing so hard they couldn't breathe. "I never thought that I'd ever fight an opponent that would make me do something this insane"

"That's me," Yang said, "always wanting to do a Yang-up job."

Ferrina fell onto back bursting with laughter, "That is the single stupidest pun I've ever heard."

"I know you like it." Yang said sticking her tongue out at her newest friend.

"Yeah, whatever," Ferrina said getting back to her feet, "wanna go find the others?"

"Lead the way, Ferrina." Yang said. They walked out of the locker room and saw their friends gathered around Weiss and Rowan. They were all excitedly cheering, Ruby was naturally the loudest. "So, what did we just walk into?" Yang asked.

Luna twirled and started holding hands with Nora and jumping around in a circle squealing.

Umbra folded his arms, "Called it on the way here, Ferrina, you owe me fifty lien." He said.

"Oh my god," Ferrina shouted, "you mean it happened?"

Penny piped up, "Indeed, it did."

"You bet it did, sister," Umbra said.

"It absolutely did," Pyrrha said.

"It sure did, and I didn't even see it coming." Jaune said with a chuckle.

"Yup, it happened." Ruby grinned.

"Could someone fill me in, please?" Yang asked without a clue.

Weiss groaned, "What they're saying is, Rowan and I are together."

Yang's jaw dropped, the only words to escape her stupor were, "What the... WHAT?!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This chapter was written before Monty's passing it was my first chapter with an actual action sequence, sort of ironic and heartbreaking for me. But the ending, I love a good cliffhanger. The scene after the fight with Ferrina and Yang, I had to insert a "Goddammit Barb" type of moment since it is an obligatory tick for a writer of this community. I'm still getting better on writing for Weiss, baby steps. Until next time... momenti.**


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